Green lanternRegenisis
by great treasure
Summary: Cassidy Blake was never an ordinary girl, but suddenly, she finds herself thrown into a world of danger and adventure. This is the beginning of her life as a Green lantern
1. And so it begins

Cassidy Blake was up long before her alarm clock rang. She had barely managed to sleep the night before, and was up in time to see the sunrise. She loved the sunrise, all those colors showing up one by one until they came together in a torrent of oranges and reds and colors so beautiful she didn't believe they had names. She had watched the sun and when it had risen, she went to her work desk to try and calm down. It didn't help. She was so excited that she felt like she was vibrating. She glanced at her guitar, wishing she could play it without her parents waking up and complaining about it-honestly, her parents were two of the richest people in Gotham and they wouldn't even spring for a music room for their eldest daughter. She glanced at her clock and saw it was 5 O'clock. She decided that she didn't want to wait any longer and went into her bathroom to get ready. She paused in front of the mirror to look at herself. She was sixteen and tall for her age and very attractive in her opinion. She had light-brown skin and chocolate brown hair with a blue stripe in it. She smiled and winked at herself before getting undressed and climbing into the shower.

She came out of the bathroom a few minutes later toweling off her hair. When that was done, she turned on some music-not loud enough to wake anybody- dried herself off and got dressed to the rhythm of "Everybody wants to rule the world" by tears of fire.

Looking around the large room, one would think that several people lived there, and not just because of the mess. There was a guitar and piano in one corner with sheet music and lyrics to songs littered around a desk. Her second desk was sitting below a wall covered in complicated looking equations. Her laptop was on this desk. There were also various kinds of paintings hanging from the walls- abstracts, landscapes, portraits-as well as posters of animals, planes, books, and runway models. From the ceiling hung various geometric shapes of different materials, as well as brightly colored paper airplanes and model aircrafts. There was a large book case filled with books and magazines whose content ran from fantasy and science fiction to reference books and periodicals about new discoveries in chemistry and physics, technological breakthroughs, motorcycles and animal biology. The only thing that confirmed that one person lived in the room was the clothes, and even then they did not seem to fit with most of the room. Cassidy' wardrobe consisted of a collection of leather and bomber jackets, jeans, T-shirts-many with such things written on them as "Question? Authority." And "I don't suffer from insanity-I enjoy it a great deal." And other stereo-typically rebellious garb, most of which littered the floors. As she finished dressing herself in a Red T-shirt, ripped jeans and her favorite black leather jacket. She had another half hour before her alarm rang and she didn't feel like watching TV, so she sat down at her music desk and started working on one of her songs.

Song writing was one of her hobbies. She was very good at it, and though she was smart enough and connected enough to get a job in any science facility in the world, her real dream was to become a musician.

She thought about a good beat-that was where she always started-and couldn't think of anything. She had the chorus, but she couldn't think of a good beginning. She looked at what she had already come up with and started singing quietly.

_Fly in the freedom!_

_Time never stop and wait for me (show the way)!_

_Looking for answers looking for a clue_

_Fly in the freedom there's so many Things to do!_

She couldn't think of anything, and just kept tapping her foot. Her alarm clock went off and she decided to take a break and work on it later. She went downstairs into the kitchen to get breakfast. She warmed up some bacon for a sandwich and ate it with tea at the kitchen counter. She was washing her dish when her mom came down in her dressing gown and tried to sneak up behind her. "Morning mom." Cassidy said with a smirk-it was a point of pride with her that she could never get snuck up on. Her mother rolled her eyes and gave her daughter a hug. "Honestly honey, how do you do that?" Cass dried her hands and turned around to hug her mother. "Just a gift mom."

"Well if you ask me, you have a few too many gifts." She teased as she started making her coffee. "Some mother you are. Ugh, I don't know how you drink that stuff?" she said, her nose wrinkling at the scent of coffee. "With enormous ease as it happens. Are you excited about the trip?" She asked. Cassidy and the other art students at Gotham prep were taking a trip to France to see the Louvre thanks to a donation by Wayne enterprises. "Are you kidding? Two weeks in France the most romantic city in the world? I could barely sleep last night; next time you see Bruce Wayne tell him I said thanks." Mrs. Blake laughed at her daughters' earnestness. "I'll do that. Have you got all your stuff? You know how disorganized you are." Cassidy rolled her eyes at her mothers' lack of faith. "Honestly mom, I have everything packed and waiting in the entrance. There's nothing that could go wrong."

"That's what you said about fixing the toaster-your eyebrows didn't grow back for months!" her dad said as he walked in. Cassidy rubbed her eyebrows, remembering the incident. "You always bring that up. Cut me some slack I was ten. And besides, I thought I looked pretty cool." Her parents started laughing and she left to watch TV and leave them to their morning coffee.

She switched on the flat screen and flipped to the news station. There was a story about the Batman bringing down one of the big gang bosses. "He is sooo cool." Came a loud, pleading voice. It was her little sister, Claire. "Morning tiny one. Sleep well?" Claire frowned at her and crossed her arms. She was ten, small for her age and very sensitive about the fact-making it ideal leverage for teasing. "You know I hate it when you call me that," She grumbled, sitting down heavily on the couch, "what did I miss?" Claire loved hearing about superheroes. She followed several of them closely-particularly the Gotham heroes like Batman and the Birds of Prey. Cassidy did it as well but for a slightly different reason. "Nothing too exciting munchkin. Apparently the mob has been trying to get a foothold in old-town and Batman stopped them." Claire grinned broadly, "He is sooooo awesome!" she said excitedly. Cassidy nodded, amused by how simply her sisters views of them were. She saw them like most people saw them-heroes, people who do amazing things. That was what they were, but in Cassidy' mind, it was what they represented that made them truly special. It came from a day several years ago. She had been out with her parents and they were walking back to their car at night when they got jumped by a pair of muggers. She had never felt as scared as she had that night. Then suddenly, out of the darkness two figures dropped out of the sky-Batman and Robin. They wiped the floor with them in seconds and disappeared almost as suddenly as they had come. That moment had stayed with her forever. The feeling of being terrified, of thinking everything was over and looking up to see that someone was coming to fix it all. That was what people saw in superheroes. They saw hope, and there was nothing more important than that.

Cassidy looked at her watch and saw that it was time to go. "Well, time to head out; I'm France-bound munchkin-stay out of my room."

"See ya Cass, have a nice trip. And I am so going into your room; especially after you called me munchkin. _Twice._" Cassidy groaned. Claire never missed anything, it was a family trait. "By sweetie, be careful." Her mom said as she hugged her goodbye. "Come on, you know me." Cass said.

"Yeah, that's why we're telling you to be careful." Her dad said, giving her a hug as well. "One of us will pick up your car from school later, just have a good trip and don't do anything stupid." Cassidy grinned at her parents, seeing their long running joke put into play. "You got it, I'll just be myself." Her dad gave her a friendly punch in the shoulder, "I said don't do anything stupid." They all laughed and Cass gave one last goodbye as she pulled her suitcase out to her car.

* * *

When she got to school, she pulled out her suitcase and went to homeroom to register. Once that was over, she took her bag out to the car park and searched the crowd. She soon spotted who she was looking for. She crept up behind the girl and grabbed her from behind, lifting her off her feet. "Whoa! And good morning to you too tiger." The girl giggled as Cassidy put her down and grinned. "Morning Harmony." She said, pulling the girl in for a long kiss. Harmony pulled away from her girlfriend before the kiss got too heated. "Whoa there sweetie, wait till we're alone." Cassidy pouted, putting on her best hurt voice, "Aw, where's the fun in that Harm?" Harm rolled her eyes, amused as well as annoyed at her girlfriends' childishness. "Honestly Cass, we're sharing a room together, can't you wait a few hours?" Cass grinned again and pulled her girlfriend close, "No. and besides, it's not like it's gonna be just the two of us, Sarah's rooming with us too, though I suppose Sarah would be more than willing to step out if when we need some alone time. Won't you Sarah?" She asked the girl behind her.

"Honestly Cass, it really freaks me out when you do that. And give me real hi why don't ya?" She let go of Harmony and went to hug her best friend. "Hey Sarah." It was a stroke of luck that the three of them had gotten to room together. Her best friend and her girlfriend rooming with her made it guaranteed that this was going to be the best trip she had ever taken.

"Hey, did either of you guys here about that UFO sighting last night near the airport?" Sarah asked. Harm looked at her skeptically, "Seriously Sarah, you really need to get over this UFO stuff. If there were aliens visiting earth then they would have announced it on the news. If only to say how the justice league kicked their butts if they were hostile."

"Harm, the Justice League can't see everything. It was probably a patrol ship, scoping us out for an invasion." Cassidy had zoned out halfway through the conversation. Normally she was all for talk about aliens but suddenly she felt a lump settling in her stomach. She had a bad feeling about today. Something about a UFO sighting near the airport made her feel like there was something…_wrong._ "Yo, earth to Cass, we're getting on the bus." She gasped, her reverie suddenly broken. Harmony grabbed Cass' arm and pulled her towards the bus.

As they stowed their luggage and picked their seats, Cassidy shrugged off her bad feeling. After a few hours she had forgotten about it completely. Cass was sitting against the window with Harm resting her head on her shoulder and holding her hand and Sarah talking to them about the galleries at the Louvre. They were out on the highway now and were only an hour away from the airport, where a plane was waiting to take them to France. Everything was perfect. Then suddenly there was a blinding light and the buss lurched. Then everything went dark.

* * *

_Please tell me what you think?. this is my first adventure fanfic and your comments are appreciated_


	2. And so it resumes

When Cassidy came to, she was in a large, dark room. She was aware of several people along with her. She looked around groggily as her eyes adjusted to the gloom. She and what seemed like the rest of the bus were lying on the floor of an almost empty room. She paused, trying to remember what happened when suddenly the room was filled with light and a loud screech resonated along with it. Everyone else bolted up, screaming, groaning, and covering their ears. The noise cut off and the door flew open. A creature came in and everyone started screaming again. It was humanoid in shape but covered in thick brown hair clothed in grey armor. Also, its head resembled that of a baboon with a mouth ringed with long teeth. Though the most terrifying thing about him was that he carrying a large gun in his hands. "Silence! Silence you insects!" he fired off several shots into the air and everyone went quiet. "I am your host for the remainder of your stay. I am captain Gruud. Allow me to explain your situation." He said, his voice dripping with scorn. Cassidy remembered seeing a report about a creature that looked like this going on a crazy gambling spree in Las Vegas several years ago. She remembered his name was supposed to be Larfleeze-this must have been another member of his species. "You are on a starship belonging to a group known as the Paradigm Shift." He growled. "We are taking you back to our planet, where you will be put to work in the mines until the day you drop dead. No one is coming for you. Enjoy your flight." He turned to walk away when Cassidy stood up defiantly. "Wait, why did you take us?" she demanded, "we have the right to know!" Gruud turned around, a frightening grin on his face. There was a tension so thick you could almost hold it in your hands. "You are brave, I like that. Perhaps I shall keep you as a pet. But there is one thing I must make quite clear; the only rights you have here are the rights I give you," he pointed his gun at her, "I give you no rights." And with that he shot her, sending her flying back into the wall.

* * *

When she woke up again, she was sore all over her body and had a splitting headache. She was aware that her head was in someone's lap, and that person was stroking her head. "What happened?" she groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. "She's awake!" the person, whose voice she recognized as Harm yelled. Everyone crowded around her, asking if she was alright. Sarah did her best to keep her back. "Back off, back off! She's been through a lot and she needs to rest!" her shouts seemed to work as everyone backed off and left them be. "Hey, how are you feeling?" Harmony asked quietly. "I'm sore with a splitting headache." She groaned. "But on the bright side, my heads in your lap. How long was I out?" she asked. "A couple of hours. We saved some food for you, but you might not want to eat it." Sarah came back with bread, some vegetables, and a glass of water. The dread was stale but she ate it hungrily. She paused at the vegetables. They were strange, foreign looking plants in colors she wasn't used to seeing in vegetables. She was aware that she would need to keep her strength up if she was going to find a way out of this and started eating it-much to the surprise of everyone present. "Hey, be careful, those might be toxic to us." Sarah warned. "They wouldn't go to the trouble of kidnapping us if they were just going to poison us later. Besides…these are actually pretty good." She said in surprise. The pink stalk-y thing was quite sweet, and the pale green root was quite flavorful. She finished it off and was already feeling better for it. She stretched out and sat up. "Be careful, you might have broken something." Harm said nervously.

"Maybe, but I have to get up to know that." She replied in her usual careless demeanor. She rubbed her back as she got up slowly. She moved and rotated her body to take stock of it, deciding nothing was broken. There was plenty of space in the room, and the lights seemed to have dimmed so it was easier to see. She started pacing around, thinking. The rest of the group were silent, concerned with their situation. It was clear that they were not averse to shooting them if they got out of line and did not want to be there when they decided to kill instead of stun. "Hey, did anyone of those things come in here while I was out?" she asked. Toby, a large boy with dark hair answered her. "Uh, yeah. One came with some kind of cart thing. It had barrels with the food and water on it." she nodded. She kept pacing back and forth, her headache making it hard to think. There had to be a way of getting out, there just _had_ to be. "Hey, sweetie? I know that look, what are you thinking?" she groaned, massaging her temples, "we need a plan. I've missed something. Something big, something important, but with this headache I've got, I can't focus." Harmony stretched up to kiss Cassidy on the temple. "You've just been shot. Whatever you've missed, it's not important right now. Lie down and _rest_." She urged quietly. She took a deep breath. "Yeah, maybe you're right. I need to rest for what I'm gonna do." At that, Harmony got nervous. "Cass, we are on a an alien spaceship being taken to work as minors by a group of trigger-happy aliens that look like stretched-out baboons-what are you going to do?" she asked cautiously. "Cassidy grinned again, "well Harm dearest: I'm going to take break out of this cell, fight through these alien freaks and get us back home."

"And how do you intend to do that?" Cassidy' grin stretched out even wider, "I'll do a thing."

"What thing?"

Dunno yet. It's a thing in progress. _Respect the thing._" Harm rubbed her forehead with her palm; her girlfriend was going to get them all killed.

* * *

They were there for three months. They had settled into a surreal boredom, all resigned to their fates. All except Cassidy. She was physically fit and devised a workout plan to keep it that way. Between that and the food they were being given-which seemed to be a very good source of nutrients-she was in better health than she was before they were taken. They all asked her why she bothered and she would just look at them and say-always be prepared.

She had also noticed several things about their captors. They came every week with a barrel each of bread, vegetables, and water, collecting the empty barrels as well. They came even if the barrels weren't empty, telling her that the room wasn't under surveillance. She had also looked very closely at the guns they carried. They were relatively simple-much like guns on earth, though there was a switch on the side that she reasoned controlled the guns intensity. Finally, she decided that the time was right to escape.

"Right then people, I'm goin' in." she announced. Her announcement was greeted with stunned silence. She took this as a sign to continue. "I have a plan to get myself out of here but I'm going to need some help." The silence lifted. "Are you insane?"

"They'll kill you!"

"They'll kill _us_!"

"Just keep your head down!" these were just some of the protests thrown at her. She let them come for a moment before shouting them down. "Shut up!" she screamed. This successfully silenced them again. "Look, I know you're all afraid that they'll kill us if we rebel, so I'm not asking it of you. Just help me get out. They're trying to keep us alive so if one of us escapes, they won't kill everyone else."

"How can you be so sure." Someone challenged. She took a breath, her argument long-since prepared. "Look, I can understand why you're scared, but there's no reason to be. We're dead anyway." More protests. "Listen, they're taking us to a mine to be worked to death. Frankly I think getting shot by one of those things would be more pleasant." This time Harm was the one who spoke up. "Cassidy listen, you're being stupid and desperate. Just stop this." She pleaded. Cass knew she was scared for her, and felt guilty that she didn't feel scared for herself. "Listen to me. If we stay here and o nothing, we all die long, drawn-out deaths. If you help me, the worst they could happen is they kill us all now. The best that could happen is that I get us to safety somehow. I know I'm grasping at straws, but it's better than not grasping at all. I for one would rather die giving them hell than live as their slave. All I need from you guys is a little co-operation." She said, her voice resonating with confidence. "This is our only chance at surviving, and when death is certain, there's no point being afraid of anything. I'm not afraid, and I just need for you to have faith in me." Silence resonated through the air. The truth was, she didn't need their help, she just wanted to give them some hope. Harmony stepped up. "I believe in you." She said firmly. Then Sarah spoke out, "So do I!"

"And me."

"Me too."

"You can do it!" soon they had all announced their faith, and she felt like she could do anything. "What do you need us to do?"

* * *

The next day, the weekly food delivery came. The grunt walked irately through the door, clearly annoyed at his job. He had just started hefting the barrels when Cass swung one of the empty barrels at his head. He was floored immediately. She took his gun and searched him further, finding a keycard. She examined the gun. Being an eidetic, she already had a near perfect mental image of the gun, but a closer look was always welcomed. Sarah and Harmony came up and hugged her. "Good luck Cassidy. Get out there and kick some butt." Sarah said, giving her a punch in the arm. Harm on the other hand, was far more reserved. She hugged Cassidy tightly; well aware that this may be the last time they see each other. "Please Cass; stay safe. I…don't want you to die." She said quietly. "Hey, don't worry. You know better than anyone; I'm very dangerous when I don't know what I'm doing." She smiled, feeling slightly better, though tears still began to fall. They looked at each other, no more words needing to be said, and kissed. After what felt like an eternity, they parted. "That's just a reminder of what you'll be missing if you die." Harm said with a wry smile. Cassidy blinked for a few moments, shaking off the light-headedness the kiss had induced and grinned. "Don't worry, if you're going to kiss me like _that _again, I'd come back even if I did die." Harm stepped back, leaving one last lingering look between them before Cass left. "Wish me luck guys she said as she walked out the door, identifying the control panel for the door. " Geronimo." she said, and with that, she shut the door.


	3. The breakout

Cassidy looked down the well lit hallway. It was wide and grey, clearly they were on a purely practical vessel. She picked a direction and started walking. The walls were largely plain, with only power cables running along the walls. She passed a few doors, listening at each to see what was on the other side. She heard voices o most of them, but after about half an hour she came across a quiet door. She swiped the keycard and the door slid open to reveal a small room. She stepped in and saw what looked like...a mop. There were bottles of liquid on shelves and what was clearly a bucket. She nearly laughed; she was in an alien janitors closet! She turned and stepped out-just in time to come face to face with one of her jailers. They were both stunned, but Cassidy got her wits back first, shooting it in the stomach. He flew back a foot and didn't get back up. She dragged him into the closet and closed the door on him, trying to ensure she kept her cover for as long as possible.

She kept going, hoping to find something useful. She came to a corridor linned with doors and listened at all of them. She stopped at another quiet door, and when she was satisfied, she opened it-and was faced with three of them, sitting at a table playing some sort of card came. They looked at her, one again stunned, and scrambled for their guns. She fired off two shots and they were down. She blew the muzzle of her gun like they did in movies and started looking around. She decided that these were sleeping quarters. She found a wicked-looking curved dagger hanging from one of the bedposts. She put it into its sheath and fixed it to her belt. She spotted what looked like a picture frame on the side table of one of the beds. She tapped the screen and the image of the soldier appeared with what looked like a wife and two small children. She flicked her finger across the screen and found that it was filled with similar pictures of his family. Her throat tightened and she prayed to God that the blaster was set on stun. She put the machine down and went on her way, resolving to be more careful about the doors she opened.

She kept going, an hour passing. In that hour, she blasted three other soldiers. They didn't all have guns, but she couldn't have them reporting her. She decided that she wouldn't get anywhere being cautious, and started going into rooms that didn't sound like there were too many voices and burst in guns blazing. The tactic had kept her alive so far but she had failed to find anything useful-mostly due to the fact that there were fewer doors. She found a round disc in the floor at the end of a hall with a key panel coming out of the floor. She swiped the card and a list of options came up. She couldn't understand the language, but decided to find the communication deck, which she felt certain they would have. She decided that since there was no way to make an informed choice, she would leave it to luck. She closed her eyes and tapped an option. The panel started moving down. She passed two floors-both thankfully empty-until she reached her destination-where she was faced with a half-dozen more of her captors. She wasted no time firing. She was glad she had taken those marksmanship classes last year-they had definitely come in handy. She walked down the passage, meeting no one else as she traveled. The next door she came to sounded silent, so she went in, and saw a figure moving. The immediately fired, but the figure spun round and suddenly, a bright green shield appeared out of thin air. The shield illuminated the both of them and she saw that she wasn't facing one of her captors. It was another alien. An alien in a green uniform she recognized from the news-a Green Lantern.

_There you go, chapter three. Sorry it's so short, but I really couldn't think of a way to lengthen it. I need reviews to sustain my will to write so please, write as many as you like._


	4. Green lanterns light

"Whothehellareyou?" they garbled in unison. The two figures examined each other. The Lantern was an alien, but vaguely human shaped. His skin was brownish-green and he had four thin, muscled arms, each with five fingers. He had a long, beak-like nose and six beady black eyes. He lowered his shield and stood up straighter. "I am Raysh Kal, Green Lantern of space sector 2815. Who are you?" she lowered her gun and looked at him in amazement. "Um, I am Cassidy Blake, human of earth. Not that I'm not grateful but...what are you doing here?" she asked, shaking off her amazement. "My partner Raad and I were here to investigate claims of kidnapping. It seems those claims were correct." He nodded at her gun. "Have you used that?" he asked simply.

"Yeah."

"How many of 'em have you taken out?"

"About twenty or so." She estimated. He nodded in approval. "Impressive. How many more of you are there?" he asked, walking towards the door. "Twenty-six, but I'm the only one out here." Raysh frowned. "This is bad." He held up his ring and spoke into it. "Raad. We've got twenty-six captives here. I'm with one of them now; meet us in the main communications room, I'm sending out a call for back-up." He apparently heard a reply, because he lowered his ring and started walking. "Come on then, I could use some back-up."

They were walking for several minutes in silence before she started asking questions. "So, how does the ring work anyway?" Raysh looked at her with a smile, "Ah, curious, I like that. It's actually very simple; I imagine it, and it is created." Cassidy grinned at the alien. "No. It couldn't be that simple." She said excitedly. "Well, in a way, I suppose it isn't. One must have an extraordinary amount of willpower to create a worthwhile construct."

"Willpower?" she questioned.

"Yes. It is why the ring chose us. It chooses anyone with courage and a strong will." Cassidy enjoyed hearing about the ring, and found what the alien had to say very interesting. "So the ring chooses you? I never thought there were other Green Lanterns out there; it thought it was only the four." She admitted. "Ah, fair enough, you humans are not yet so well versed in the workings of the universe. Now if I may ask _you, _why are you risking your life out here? Are you not frightened?" Cassidy shrugged. "I guess I was a little scared at first, but I got over it, after all; it was either certain death or the slim possibility of survival for me and my friends." Raysh nodded sagely to himself. "Yes, I see. You are very brave," the alien smiled impishly at her, "or very mad." Cassidy laughed, deciding that she definitely liked this man. "Mad? Yeah, that I know. But I'm not really being brave-I'm just doing the right thing."

"Ah, but oftentimes, that requires the most bravery of all."

They carried on like this for some time, Raysh talking to her about the details of the Corps, and Cass telling him about her life. Suddenly, a siren started to sound. "What's going on?" Cassidy yelled over the alarms blaring. "It is the alarm! It would appear that we have been found out! We must hurry!" they started running, Cassidy following Raysh close behind. "Quickly! The communications room is close. We can hold them of there. Once Raad arrives, we will be able to get out and hopefully set up a defense around your friends!" she nodded, saving her breath for the run. "Careful!" she snapped as she shot down a soldier that had just come around the corner. "Impressive."

"Thanks."

Between the two of them they took down another twenty guards before they made it to the communications room and closed the door. "They have keycards-that won't keep them out for long!" she panted, aiming the gun at the door. Raysh shot a beam of energy down there the door met the wall, welding it shut. "Now it will." He said, turning to one of the computers. "I need you to keep them out while I send out the message. I'll aid you as soon as I can."

"Got it!"

The guards reached the door a few moments and-upon seeing that it wouldn't open, tried to ram it down. The door was starting to dent, and Cassidy felt her trigger finger start to twitch. Suddenly, the door was ripped clear off its hinges and the shots stared to fly. She could hear the Lanterns voice in the background, yelling something about needing aid. She jumped around, desperate to avoid the shots aimed at her. She was up against almost two dozen guards and she had managed take down six. Suddenly, there were shafts of green light erupting from behind her. "Need some help?" Raysh asked, constructing a wide barrier for them to hide behind.

"Nah, I'm doing fine in fact, I was just getting ready to make a cup of tea." She replied snarkily. Raysh and Cassidy were managing to hold their own, but there were more coming. "Hey, Raysh, when's your partner gonna get here? Cause we could _really _use his help. He bolted up to fire some shots and then got back down. "I just contacted him! He should be here any moment!" she took her turn to fire at them. "Good!" Cassidy was very aware of the cracks that had begun snaking their way through their barrier. Suddenly, a giant green hammer appeared and swatted aside several of the guards. The gunfire turned from them to the source of the hammer. "That would be Raad-all the subtlety of a swamp jorgar. She was so happy for the rescue that she didn't ask what a jogar was. Raysh took a moment to catch his breath before he joined in as well, creating a ball and chain to knock out the guards. Cassidy marveled at how easily they made their constructs and how effectively they fought. It was utterly awe inspiring. The battle was over in moments and they floated back next to Cassidy. "So this is who you mentioned; what's her name?" Raad asked. "Raad, this is my friend, Cassidy Blake. Cassidy, this is Raad." She shook his hand and looked him up and down. Raad was about her height and looked like a normal human-except for the fact he was navy blue. His uniform was different from Rayshes. Raysh only had a simple suit but Raads resembled a kind of armor. He had breast and shoulder guards and gauntlets with heavy metal boots. "Nice to meet you." He said graciously.

"The pleasures all yours." She grinned. Raad smiled, clearly appreciating the joke. "Alright, now that the introductions are out of the way, I suggest we go back to protect Cassidy' friends until the-Cassidy look out!" he screamed suddenly as he pushed her out of the way. One of the guards had gotten up and tried to shoot her before he passed out again. "Thanks Raysh, that was a-oh my God." She turned to see that Raysh had a hole the size of a fist shot through his side. He looked down weakly before collapsing. "NO!" Raad roared, kneeling at his side. Cassidy couldn't move. She felt like someone had filled her with concrete and dropped her underwater. "Don't worry Raysh." Raad said shakily, "We'll get you help. You'll pull through." The older alien smiled, clearly amused at Raads words. "I have pulled through from many things, but this will not be one of them." those words shocked Cass back to the present and she knelt beside him opposite Raad. "No, no, no you can't die!" she panicked. Raysh just kept smiling. "Oh, I'll have you know that I am as capable of dying as anyone else. And I will prove it to you very soon."

"Don't talk like that!" Raad said desperately, "you can't die here! You've been like a father to me!"

"And you were like the son I never had. And it is the way of both our people that the son must bury the father." He said calmly. "Now, I know this will be hard for you both, but please be quiet." He asked, his breath growing more labored. "Raad. We have fought side by side for many years now. I have enjoyed our time together more than any other time in my life. I have watched you grow from an awkward youth into a strong, skilled Lantern. You are ready to go on without me. But rest assured, you will not be moving on alone. You will have your own youth to mentor. I can guarantee you that she will be every bit as earnest and full of potential as you were."

"W-what do you mean?" his smile returned, the smile of a man with a secret. "I mean young Cassidy here."

"What! I-I'm not a lantern." She stuttered.

"No, but you will be. You will be the successor of my ring. Do not protest. I have known you for little more than an hour, and I know in my heart that you are the worthiest being in this sector. You are brave, intelligent, and full of potential. You know how I know for sure that you have potential?" Cass shook her head, unable to speak. "You have seen what is wrong with all of this." He said knowingly. She nodded, she had figured out what was strange about the situation long ago. "You will be more than great. Together, the two of you will be _magnificent._" And with that, he closed his eyes and went still, his knowing smile still on his face. Cassidy felt her eyes sting with tears. She hadn't known him for long, but she felt like she lost an old, dear friend. She glanced across at Raad, who was sobbing. Rayshes uniform faded away, his upper right arm rising as his ring slid off. She half expected it to go zooming off into space like Raysh told her they did when their Lantern died, but it floated slowly in front of her face. She heard a gentle voice resonate through her mind.

_Cassidy Blake of earth; you have the ability to overcome great fear. Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps._

And with that, the ring slid onto her left middle finger. The moment it did, she felt a surge of confidence flow through her. She looked down to find that her clothes had been replaced by a green uniform. It was a simple one, with a green body and black legs and sleeves. Later, when she wasn't so full of grief, she would note that the white circle where her insignia should have been was blank-as it always was for new recruits. For now though, she stood up slowly, looking down on her friends' body and felt her resolve strengthen. She could mourn later. For now, she had to protect those friends of hers that still lived. "Come on Raad, I'll show you where my friends are being kept." And with that she focused her mind and started to fly. She had woken this morning as a prisoner, but she would sleep tonight as a hero. A liberator. A Green Lantern.


	5. Trial by fire

Cassidy Flew as fast as she could, relishing the feeling of the wind whipping around her. They arrived at the cell in minutes, her eidetic memory letting her retrace her path perfectly and her ring letting her fly faster than she could walk. The pair arrived to see a team of five guards in front of the door. They never stood a chance. "Hey, Raad, hold them back for a minute I wanna try something." "what? This is no time for experiments!" he said irately, his ring at the ready. Cassidy sent I string of light to pick up one of the guards guns. The light separated into several thin strings that started to take it apart. There were many small pieces to examine. She rotated them, put them back together, and took them apart again several times until she was satisfied, and tossed the gun away. Raad marveled for a moment at how easily she controlled the multi-faceted construct, even if it was still a relatively simple one. "What are you doing?" he asked, unable to figure out her plans. She smirked at him before constructing two modified blasters in each hand. "How…"

"I took it apart so I could get a clear image of how it worked. That way I could make some modifications to it; make them smaller." The alien gapped at her, unable to believe that a human who hadn't even been a Lantern for 10 minutes could create such a complicated construct. "How did you modify it in your head? In less than a minute? That shouldn't be possible." Cass was enjoying her new partners' amazement. "Well, I've always had a habit of doing things I shouldn't." their rings beeped, alerting them of danger. "Brace yourself, their incoming." Raad nodded, and, not to be outdone, constructed two large Gatling guns on his shoulders. They grinned at each other, and then turned down their respective corridors. Then they came. There were at least a dozen charging after them. The Lanterns started firing, holding them back as long as they could. Cassidy constructed a barrier like Raysh did to shelter behind between shots. There were more coming and they were in danger of being overwhelmed. "Imagination." Cassidy muttered. "The only limit is my imagination. Come on brain, don't let me down." she grunted as she kept firing. Then she had an idea. She dropped her other constructs, and sent out a torrent of water from her ring to wash them back. It only bought her a few minutes at best, but it would have to be enough. She glanced back at Raad, who seemed to be holding his own. "Hey! When's this back-up of yours supposed to get here!" she yelled.

"I just got a message; they'll be here in five minutes!"

"We're not gonna last five seconds if we keep up like this. We need to get on the move ore we're gonna be cornered!"

"Yeah, but how are we gonna get through?"

"I have an idea but I need you to cover me!"

"On it!" He shouted and with that she got to work on another construct. In moments she had created a copy of a Ducati road bike and was revving it up next to Raad. "Come with me if you want to live!" she yelled, unable to resist making the reference. "I need you to construct a force field, we're gonna ride straight through them!" she explained. Raad sat down behind her and held on, a sphere of green light materializing around them. "Are you sure this is gonna work?" he questioned. Much to his concern, she just laughed hysterically and said, "I have _no _idea!" and rode off at full speed. The force field was effective, knocking over anyone that didn't get out of the way. She kept riding, slowing down slightly. "Why are you slowing down?" Raad yelled, as he turned so see that they were being pursued. "We need to keep them chasing us!" she explained, "If we lose them, they might try and cut us off! Just keep us covered until the cavalry gets here!" Raad nodded, knowing a good plan when he saw one. "We should get to the docking bay, that's where the reinforcements are gonna come in! I have a map on my ring, I'll guide you!"

The two of them worked well together. Cassidy followed Raads directions, and Raad succeeded in hitting any guard that got too close. They came to the elevator of the floor. Luckily, it seemed to still be down where she left it, so she rode the bike down the hole. "Yaaahooo!" she screamed, thoroughly enjoying the drop. She slowed down when she saw the panel they were zooming towards. "Raad!" she yelled. He dropped the force field in time for her to blast a hole through it. "Tell me when to stop!" she shouted over her shoulder.

"I won't need to! We're going all the way down!" She grinned and rode faster, "Well than _Allons-y!" _she screamed in delight. They reached the bottom within a minute, at which point they found themselves in a space the size of a small office building with several small ships. She drove to the middle of the room before skidding to a stop. After a moment's hesitation, Cassidy dissolved her construct. "So…now what? Do we just wait?"

Raad shook his head. "I'm gonna get in contact with our reinforcements. They should be arriving at any moment." He held out his hand and the image of what looked like a crab-person appeared the name Teseral popped into her head-likely from the ring. "Hello, captain Thrack? What's the ETA on your people? We're taking shelter in the loading bay. We don't know how long before they're back on us."

"We've identified your position. We have also stopped the ship and will be boarding momentarily. I look forward to seeing you again old friend." Raad grinned broadly at the crab-man, "the feeling's mutual." And with that, the image disappeared. "So we're done?" She asked.

"Looks like it." there were suddenly several pneumatic hisses resonating through the chamber. "Sounds like they're coming now." The doors at the end of the hangar lowered, revealing several sleek-looking spaceships. A walkway lowered from the bottom of the ships, and several dozen Crab-people stormed down to them. They arranged themselves into neat-looking lines as Thrack walked up to them. "Greetings most esteemed Lanterns. Raad, you look well."

"I could say the same about you sir." Thrack might have smiled-it was hard to tell with his mandibled mouth. "You flatter me. I see you have a new recruit with you. Another of Rayshes protégés I assume. Where is the old fool?" the alien saw the look on Raads face and immediately realized what happened. "I am so sorry. I know how much he meant to you." He turned to his troops, "men, I want you to apprehend everyone on this vessel. They are to be charged with murder, kidnapping, and interference with a developing planet! I need five of you to stay with me and rescue the kidnap victims."

"Sir, yes sir!" the chorused as they filled onto the other elevators. Thrack looked Cassidy up and down, inspecting her. "You wear the ring of a great man. Raysh was a dear friend of mine. I hope you can live up to his legacy." She nodded quietly. "I intend to." Thrack patted her shoulders firmly. Then you can consider yourself a friend of mine. If you ever need anything just ask." Cassidy felt a knot loosen in her stomach at the approval of the captain. "Thank you. Let me show you where my friends are being kept.

Cassidy led the group to her friends. As she stood in front of the door, she felt a lump in the pit of her stomach. What if she'd been wrong? What if she had gotten her friends killed? She took a deep breath and swiped the keycard. The door slid open to show her friends, all of them okay. They were stunned at first, not sure what to make of her uniform. The silence passed as she walked in and they all cheered, many of them running to hug her, all of them asking questions. She was almost overwhelmed by them all rushing in at once. It was several minutes before they gave her some space. "Okay guys. There are some aliens out in the hall. Don't worry, their good guys. Just follow them and they'll make arrangements to get you all back home. There was another round of cheers and they filed out, too hyped up to be intimidated by their escorts. Sarah and Harm stayed behind to talk to her directly. Raad stepped in to check on her. "Aren't you coming?" he asked, "Yeah, I'll be right there. Go on we'll catch up."

"I see. You should hurry." He said, and with that, turned and left. "You look cool; are you a green lantern now?" Cassidy grinned, glad her friend approved. "Yep, I'm officially a recruit."

"Sweet," She said approvingly, "I know a Green Lantern; how cool is that?"

"Not half as cool as _being_ one!" She glanced at Harm, who was standing around solemnly. "Hey, Sarah, can you give me a second alone with Harmony?"

"Sure. It'll give me a chance to check out those aliens. Who's that blue guy?"

"That's Raad, my partner."

"He's cute. Think you could put in a good word for me?" Cassidy chuckled, amazed her friends request. "Sure, I'll mention you just go." She laughed. Sarah walked out, leaving just Cassidy and Harmony. They turned and looked at each other, neither sure what to say. "I like the uniform," Harm said at last. "It suits you." Cassidy looked down at herself, giving a twirl. "Really? You think? I was maybe considering some chains, some leather too would look pretty-" Harm lunged forward and hugged her. Cassidy hugged her back basking in the warmth of her girlfriends' body. "I thought I'd never see you again." She sobbed quietly into her shoulder. "I'd fight an army to come back to you." She whispered, stroking Harmony' hair. Harmony eventually managed to let go and wipe her eyes. "Well, we should get going; we don't want to get left behind." Cassidy nodded, taking her hand and walking out to catch up with the others.

The three of them spent the walk with Cass telling them about the battle and how the ring worked. She constructed some shapes for them, eliciting an appropriate amount of 'oohs' and 'aahs.' When they got to the shipping bay, Thrack and some of his officers started guiding them onto the ships. Cass explained that they were being taken to the Tesertal home world and from there they would be taken home. Harm noticed that when she and Sarah started moving to a ship, Cass didn't. "Hey, why are you standing around?" Sarah asked. She was silent, an occurrence that as far as her friends were concerned, was happening far too often. "You're not coming with us, are you?" Harmony said. "No. I've got to go with Raad back to Oa. I need to train and meet with the Guardians to become an official Lantern." The girls nodded. They weren't sure what was happening, but they knew that Cassidy wouldn't have abandoned them if she didn't have to. "Okay. You go and train and whatever. Just make sure you tell us all about it when you get home." Cass grinned again, "deal." Sarah gave her friend a hug and left her with Harm. "Why are you suddenly leaving so much?" she asked quietly. Cass gave a small chuckle, "I don't know. But I think we've established that I'm coming back. It's gonna be a while, but I'll come back." She promised. "Yeah, I know you will. I'll try and explain everything to your parents-they are gonna go crazy." Cassidy smiled at the image. "Yeah. And Claire is gonna go around telling all her friends at school that her big sister's a superhero." Harm smiled, the playful gleam returning to her eyes. "Wow, it just occurred to me-you _are _a superhero. I'm dating a superhero." Cassidy grinned, "Yeah, I am aren't I? I'm awesome." The two of them broke down into giggles. When they recovered, Cassidy looked pleadingly at Harm. "Harmony, I'm gonna be gone for a pretty long time; can you wait for me?" she asked. Harm snorted, smiling at her girlfriend. "Of course I can. If it came to that, I would wait for you till after doomsday and do you know why?" "'cuz I'm hot?" she guessed." Harm laughed again-Cassidy loved her laugh; it was one of the most beautiful things she had ever heard. "Yeah, 'cuz you're hot. And because I love you." Cassidy felt her throat shut-they had never said that to each other before, and she had no idea how to react. She couldn't make herself speak, so she did the only thing she could think of-she pulled Harm in and kissed her. When the kiss was over, she could talk again. "I love you too." Harm smiled, stroking Cass' cheek. "Stay safe, and kick some alien butt."

"You know I will." She said, as she watched her girlfriend walk onto one of the ships. "So…is that your mate?" Raad asked, interrupting her reverie.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. She means a lot to me."

"I understand. Well, we need to get to Oa, so we should leave now." She nodded, her eyes fixed to Harms ship. They walked into the docking area with the ships and waited as the main doors closed behind them. Cassidy braced herself as the doors to the outside opened and she was faced with the vacuum of space. Her ring protected her and let her fly. She gazed at the view before her. Space, dark and bright at the same time. It was beautiful. "Wow." Raad seemed pleased at the reaction. "I know. Now come, we shouldn't waste time."

"All right then. To Oa; Allons-y!" and with that, followed Raad to the Corps home base.


End file.
